Heavy mover apparatus



Dec. 30, 1969 B. F. BOONE HEAVY MOVER APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledApril 8, 1968 llllli llll 'FIG. I

INVENTOR.

FIG. 3

BYRON F. BOONE FIG. 2

Dec. 30, 1969 B. F. BOONE HEAVY MOVER APPARATUS Filed April 8, 1968 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 7

INVENTOR. BYRON F. BOONE United States Patent 3,486 ,650 HEAVY MOVERAPPARATUS Byron F. Boone, 100 S. 160th E., Wichita, Kans. 67230 FiledApr. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 719,527 Int. Cl. B60p 1/02 U.S. Cl. 214-390 6Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Numerous types of article handlingdevices are known to the prior art attachable to a large object throughinterconected belt and strap members to be moved through a framestructure. However, the prior art devices are generally difficult toattach to a heavy article to be moved and merely operate to elevate thearticle abovethe supporting surface on wheel caster devices and,therefore, elevate the article to be conveyed a predetermined fixeddistance. It is also noted that the prior art devices are generallylimited in the height to which the conveyed articles may be elevatedabove the supporting surface.

In one preferred embodiment of the mover apparatus of this invention,generally used in pairs to move a heavy object, the same includesconnector and lift means attachable to the article to be conveyed andconnected through jack means to an upright support means. The connectorand lift means includes a basic frame means having an attachmentassembly connectible to the object to be moved. The frame means includesa pair of spaced, parallel support frame assemblies interconnected atthe forward sides by the attachment assembly. Each support frameassembly includes a pair of upright spaced main tube membersinterconected by horizontally extended parallel support struts andhaving anchor assemblies connected thereto. Mounted within the forwardtube members are upright auxiliary support posts operable to be movedaxially therewithin and held in a desired position as by the anchorassemblies. The attachment assembly is provided with an invertedU-shaped stabilizer member having lower leg portions connected to anL-shaped support bed. The upper area of the leg portions areinterconnected by a guard bar adapted to abut the article to be moved.The support means includes a pair of spaced support shaftsinterconnected as by a support strut at the lower ends thereof which, inturn, are respectively connected to swivel assemblies for easy movementof the entire structure. The support shafts are telescopingly mountedwithin the rearward tube members of the support frame assemblies andoperable to be connected by anchor assemblies to the tube members so asto provide the desired vertical adjustment relative thereto. The jackmeans includes an upright actuator shaft connected to a support base andan actuator mechanism connected to the shaft and the support bed of theconnector and lift means. The actuator mechanism is provided with a jackhandle operable in conjunction with the actuator shaft to move theconnector and lift means and an object carried thereon to the desiredheight. Additionally, a winch assembly is mounted upon one of the endframe assemblies having a rotatable cylindrical drum receiving a strapmember whereby the strap member is connectible to another cooperatingmover apparatus to hold the article to be moved therebetween.

One object of this invention is to provide a mover apparatus overcomingthe above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art structures.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a mover apparatusoperable with a minimum clearance with a supporting surface having jackmeans operable to raise and lower a load thereon as desired.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mover apparatus,preferably usable in pairs for attachment to an object to be conveyed,including a support means secured to a connector and lift means by ajack means whereupon the object conveyed can be moved vertically asdesired by the jack means in order to pass through restricted areas and,additionally, to raise a heavy article to an elevated position forloading purposes.

One other object of this invention is to provide a mover apparatus thatis rigid in construction, easy to use, economical to manufacture, andrequiring a minimum of maintenance.

Various other objects, advantages and features of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from the followingdiscussion, taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pair of the mover apparatus of thisinvention connected to an object illustrated in dotted lines to bemoved;

FIG. 2. is a rear elevational view of the mover apparatus of thisinvention;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the mover apparatus of thisinvention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevational view of an anchor assembly of themover apparatus of this invention having portions thereof broken awayfor clarity;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the winch means ofthe mover apparatus of this invention; and FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 areschematic diagrams illustrating the use and operation of the moverapparatus of this invention.

The following is a discussion and descripiton of preferred specificembodiments of the new mover apparatus of this invention, such beingmade with reference to the drawings, whereupon the same referencenumerals are used to indicate the same or similar parts and/orstructures. It is to be understood that such discussion and descriptionis not to unduly limit the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings in detail and particularly to FIG. 1, a pairof the mover apparatus of this invention, indicated generally at 12, areshown as interconnected having a large object such as a rectangular box14 mounted threbetween in a clamped relationship. Although the moverapparatus 12 has been illustrated as using a pair to lift and move therectangular box 14, it is obvious that a plurality of these devicescould be attached to a common large object if required to provide thenecessary load bearing support thereto. Each mover apparatus 12 includesa connector and lift means 16 slidably mounted upon a support means 18and interconnected therebetween by a jack means 20 for relativemovement.

The connector and lift means 16 includes a basic frame means 22 havingan object attachment assembly 23 secured thereto. The basic frame means22 includes a pair of spaced end support assemblies 26 and 28interconnected through the jack means 20 and the attachment assembly 23as will be explained. As each end support assembly is identical, onlyone need be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the endsupport assembly 28 is provided with front and rear upright elongatedtube members 30 and 32 interconnected by horizontally extended supportstruts 34 which may be of a pipe material or the like. The front tubemembers 30 are provided with elongated auxiliary support posts 36telescopingly mounted therein and securable in adjusted axial positionas by anchor asemblies 38. The support posts 36 are provided with aplurality of equally spaced holes 40 operable to be selectively placedin locking engagement with the respective anchor assembly 38 as will beexplained. The rear tube members 32 are also provided with anchorassemblies 38 for reasons to become obvious.

Only the end support assembly 28 is provided with a winch assembly 41secured between the front and rear tube members 30 and 32 and thelowermost one of the horizontal support struts 34. As shown in FIG. 5,the winch assembly 41 includes a cylindrical drum member 43 rotatablymounted between a pair of spaced triangular gusset plates 45 which aresecured as by welding to the end support assembly 28. A handle member 46is connected to the cylindrical drum member 43 for assembly 47 isprovided whereupon the cylindrical drum 43 is automatically latched onrotation in one direction and must be positively released beforemovement in the other direction. Additionally, the winch assembly 41includes an elongated belt member 49 having one end connected to andtrained about the cylindrical drum member 43, and the other end of thebelt member 49 is provided with a J -shaped metal clamp member 51engageable with the rear tube member 32 on mating mover apparatus 12 aswill be explained.

The attachment assembly 23 is provided with a U- shaped stabilizermember 54 having upright parallel legs 56 secured as by welding to theinner facing surfaces of the front tube members 30 on the end supportassemblies 26 and 28 with the lower ends of the legs 56 secured to asupport bed 57. The upper ends of the legs 56 are interconnected by aguard bar 58 which provides a sock absorbing feature preferablyconstructed of wood engageable with the rectangular box 14 to maintainsolid contact therewith. The support bed 57 is of generally L- shape intransverse cross section and secured as by welding on the back surfacethereof to the legs 56. The support bed 57 is preferably constructed ofa heavy gauge steel material; however, any material can be usedproviding sufiicient strength for carrying heavy objects.

The support means 18 includes a pair of parallel upright support shafts61 having their respective lower ends connected to swivel assemblies 62and additionally interconnected by a transverse support strut 64. Theupright shafts 61 are spaced a predetermined distance by the supportstrut 64 so as to be mountable in telescopingly relationship inrespective ones of the rear tube members 32 on the end supportassemblies 26 and 28. Each support shaft 61 is provided with a pluralityof equally spaced holes 65 adapted to be engageable with a lockingfeature of the anchor assemblies 38 mounted on the rear tube members 32as will be explained. Each swivel assembly 62 is provided with aU-shaped support body 67 pivotally connected at the upper end thereof tothe respective support shaft 61. The lower ends of the support bodies 67are each adapted to receive a shaft 68 having a wheel member 69rotatably mounted thereon. The swivel assemblies 62 are of a generallyconventional caster wheel type operable to maintain ease of movementwhile supporting a large load thereon. It is seen that the basic framemeans 22 is movable in a generally vertical direction relative to theinterconnected support shafts 61 of the support means 18.

The jack means 20 includes a laterally extending base member 71 havingan upright actuator shaft 73 thereon mounted on a base bar 75 and anactuator mechanism 76 conn c d o h ha t 3 and also to the support bed 57of the basic frame means 22. The base bar 75 is provided with anelongated main body 78 having tubular stub members 80 welded to oppositeends thereof each mounted about the respective support shafts 61 betweenthe respective swivel assemblies 62 and the lower ends of the rear tubemembers 32 on the end support assemblies 26 and 28. One of the anchorassemblies 38 is attached to each of the tubular stub members 80 andengageable with the respective support shafts 61 as will be explained.The actuator mechanism 76 is secured as by welding or the like in arigid manner to the support bed 57 with the actuator shaft 73 mountedtherethrough engageable with a laterally extended actuator handle 81.The actuator mechanism 76 is given additional rigidit by support rods 83welded thereto extended to the lower ends of the rear tube members 32 ofthe end support assemblies 26 and 28. The operation of the jack means 20is substantially identical to conventional automotive jacks; therefore,a detailed description of the operating mechanism is not deemednecessary. It is obvious that the handle 81 is movable in a verticalplane through a pumping movement to raise and lower the connector andlift means 16.

As shown in FIG. 4, each of the anchor assemblies 38 includes acylindrical housing 84 welded to the respective ones of the front andrear tube members 30 and 32 and the cylindrical stub members 80 andhaving a T- handle 86 connected thereto. The T-handle 86 includes agrasp end portion 87 integral with an elongated lock shaft 88 extendedthrough an opening 90 in a cap member 92 into a cylindrical bore 93within the housing 84. The lock shaft 88 is provided with a lug portion94 having a compression spring 95 mounted thereabout engageable with astepped portion 97 and the cap member 92. The spring 95 biases theT-handle 86 inwardly through an aligned hole 99 in the respective membermounted thereon to be engageable with the aforementioned spaced holes inthe respective support shafts 61 and auxiliary support posts 36. It isobvious that the T-handle 86 may be pulled to the left, as viewed inFIG. 4, to release the lock shaft 88 from the respective holes for axialmovement. The compression spring 95 normally biases the entire T-handle86 inwardly to the locked position and gives a positive indication ofthe secured position to prevent use of the mover apparatus 12 withoutproperly locking all the required elements. Also, the lock shaft 88 maybe provided with a laterally extended detent (not shown) .movable in aslot in the housing 84 so as to latch the shaft 88 in the unlockedposition for ease of usage.

In the use and operation of the mover apparatus 12 of this invention, itis seen that the jack means 20 can be lowered downwardly into abuttingengagement of the stub members 80 with the respective swivel assemblies62 by release of the anchor assemblies connected thereto. The. jackmeans 20 can be actuated through the actuator handle 81 and moved to thelowermost position to place the entire connector and lift means 16adjacent a supporting surface as shown in FIG. 6. In this position, itis seen that the support bed 57 is easily movable laterally to aposition underneath an object to be moved such as therectangular box 14.The belt members 49 from the respective winch assemblies 41 arethereupon trained about the adjacent end support assembly 28 andconnected to the rear tube member 32 of another cooperating moverapparatus 12 through the clamp member 51 as shown in FIG. 1. The handlemember 46 of the winch assembly 41 can be rotated so as to pull therespective mover apparatus 12 into snug cooperating engagement with therectangular box 14 to be moved.

. Next, the jack means 20 can be operated through the actuator handle 81to raise the interconnected connector and lift means 16 upwardly byaxial movement on the shaft 73. It is obvious that during this movingoperation the anchor assemblies 38 on the respective rear tube members32 are pulled outwardly and rotated so as to be in an unlatchedposition. The interconnected support bed 57 and its load may be elevatedto any desired height but is also easily movable with only a quarterinch clearance between the same and the supporting surface. This isextremely important in many moving type operations such as refrigeratorswhereupon the doorway clearance is very close as it is seen the moverapparatus 12 may be constructed of a width to go through conventionaldoors and the height may be easily regulated.

In an operation where considerable height is required, on upwardmovement of the connector and lift means 16 through the jack means 20,it is obvious that the anchor assemblies 38 on the rear tube members 32may be moved to the latched position to hold the same in thisrelationship. The base member 71 and base bar 75 is thereupon raisedupwardly by unlatching of the respective anchor assemblies 38 on thestub members 80. On reaching a position adjacent the rear tube members32, the anchor assemblies 38 are latched to achieve the position asshown in FIG. 8. Then, the anchor assemblies 38 on the rear tubularmembers 32 can be again moved to the inactive position whereupon thejack means 20 can be actuated to provide additional height and movementof the connector and lift means 16. It is obvious that the supportshafts 61 can be of any desired length for achieving great height inlifting the box 14.

The mover apparatus 12 of this invention is also easily operable throughthe use of the auxiliary support posts 36 to provide ease in loading andunloading from docks, pickup trucks, and the like. On reaching a desiredheight of the connector and lift means 16 by the jack means 20, thesupport posts 36 may be lowered on release of the anchor assemblies 38on the front tube members 30 into engagement with the support surface.These tube members 30 can be anchored by the respective'anchorassemblies 38 whereupon the entire load will be carried thereon and theentire support means 18 can be raised to the uppermost abutting positionas shown in FIG. 8. In this position, it is seen that a pickup truckcould back under the raised support means 18 and the rear tube members32 whereupon the support means 18 could be lowered onto the truck bed.The auxiliary support posts 36 would then be raised and the entire loadpushed on the truck bed with a minimum amount of physical effort beingrequired. This same procedure would be used in reverse to unload a heavyobject from a truck bed or the like;

It is seen that the mover apparatus of this invention provides a new andnovel cooperating structure attachable to more heavy objects and toelevate the same as required for movement through restricted areas wherea minimum of surface clearance is required. Additionally, a pair of themover apparatus of this invention cooperate in such a manner so as to bereadily attachable to an object to be moved regardless of its particularsize. The mover apparatus of this invention presents a durable structurethat is economical to manufacture, simple to use, and reliable inoperation providing the utmost safety during usage.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with preferredspecific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that thisdescription is intended to illustrate and not to limit the scope of theinvention.

I claim:

1. A mover apparatus adapted to be attached to an object to be movedwith a pair thereof normally required, comprising:

(a) a connector and lift means readily attachable to the object to beconveyed;

(b) support means connected to said connector and lift means;

(c) jack means mounted on said support means and connected to saidconnector and lift means operable to raise and lower said connector andlift means relative to said support means,

(d) said support means having a pair of upright support shafts havingtheir lower ends interconnected by a strut member and having respectiveswivel members mounted thereon; and

(e) said jack means having an elongated base bar with opposite endsthereof mounted on respective ones of said support shafts for axialmovement relative thereto.

2. A mover apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said base bar having anchor devices engageable with said supportshafts to anchor said base bar in a given axial position on said supportshafts; and

(b) said jack means further including a jack base member mounted on saidbase bar, an actuator shaft mounted on said base member, and an actuatormechanism secured to said connector and lift means and operablyconnected to said actuator shaft for axial movement to raise and lowersaid connector and lift means.

3. A mover apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said connector and lift means having a basic frame means connectedto said support means and an attachment assembly connectible to theobject;

(b) said basic frame means having end support assemblies, each providedwith upright front and rear tubular members interconnected by horizontalstruts,

anchor devices connected to each of said forward and rear tubularmembers, and a winch assembly connected to one of said end supportassemblies;

(c) said attachment assembly having an inverted U- shaped support membersecured to said front tubular members and having its lower endsconnected to a support bed to vertically support the object thereon:

(d) said support shafts telescopically mounted within said rear tubularmembers for selected axial movement relative thereto; and

(e) said jack means including an actuator mechanism secured to saidsupport bed so that said jack means operates to elevate said connectorand lift means relative to said support means.

4. A mover apparatus as described in claim 3, wherein:

(a) said basic frame means having a pair of support posts mounted foraxial movement within respective ones of said front tubular members andlocked in a preselected position by said anchor devices on said fronttubular members;

(b) said base bar movable axially on said support shafts and havinganchor devices engageable with said support shafts to anchor same in agiven position whereby said connector and lift means may be furtherelevated by said ja'ck means to any desired position; and

(c) said support posts engageable with the supporting surface to supportthe entire object and permit upward movement of said support meanswhereby a truck having a bed which is movable under said support meansfor ease in loading and unloading the object, therefrom.

5. A mover apparatus as described in claim 4, wherein:

(a) said winch assembly including a pair of gusset plates secured tosaid basic frame means, a cylindrical drum rotatably mounted betweensaid gusset plates, a belt member connected to said drum trainedthereabout, and a handle member connected to said cylindrical drum; and

(b) said belt member having a J-shaped connector member secured to oneend engageable in a firm relationship with said rear tubular membersfrom an adjacent mover apparatus, and said handle member rotatable towind said belt member on said cylindrical drum in order to clamp theobject between cooperating parts of said mover apparatus.

6. A mover apparatus as described in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said jack means having a base bar with opposite ends mounted onrespective ones of support shafts for axial movement relative theretoand having anchor devices engageable With said support shafts to anchorsaid base bar in a given axial position thereon; and

(b) said connector and lift means having a basic frame means providedwith upright front and rear tubular members and having anchor devicesconnected to each of said forward and rear tubular members whereby saidconnector and lift means can be independently supported on said fronttubular members in an adjusted position while said base bar is movedrelative to said support shafts thereby increasing considerably theavailability of lifting of said connector and lift means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 ALBERT J. MAKAY, PrimaryExaminer US. Cl. X.R.

UN TED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 ,486,650 December 30 1969 Byron F. Boone It is certified that error appearsin the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 23, after "for" insert rotation thereof. A substantiallyconventional ratchet line 41, "sock" should read shock Column 5, line50, "more" should read move Column 6, line 72, "cooperating parts"should read cooperating palrs Signed and sealed this 10th day ofNovember 1970.

(SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, Jr. WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents

